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The enrollment head count for Emporia State has shown an increase of 19 students from spring 2009, accounting for 0.3 percent increase, according to the Kansas Board of Regents.

“A whole lot of people did a whole lot of hard work during the semester to bring in some new students,” said Michael Lane, president of ESU. “I’m very pleased with the efforts of our admissions folks as well as the faculty and staff who worked with them on it.”

A total increase of 1,886, 2.2 percent, was reported throughout the state in six Regents universities, according to the KBOR.

However, ESU had the lowest increase, while Fort Hays State University had the highest increase, with 961 students, and the University of Kansas had a decrease of 39 students.

“One of the main strategies that we are working on is making sure that the campus is involved in the recruiting process,” said James Williams, associate provost for enrollment management and vice president of strategic partnerships. “It’s far more dynamic than just what the admissions staff does. It includes faculty. It includes students.”

To make up for the deficit of nearly 100 students in enrollment from last semester, an effort was made to recruit new students.

“We always try to work on improving retention. I know the most significant part of our increase was in new start students, new start freshman and new start transfers,” Lane said.

Noel-Levitz, a higher education consulting firm, will review ESU’s techniques to gain students.

“They will be doing a review of our procedures and our processes, from our marketing to our communication with prospective students, to how we recruit students,” Williams said. “They will work with us on continuing to structure (our programs).”

With the recent growth in attendance at community colleges, Williams said that it is important for ESU to try to build partnerships with community colleges to help students as much as possible.

“We need to be getting students that go to other institutions,” Williams said. “We need to be capturing those students.”

As a part of this effort, ESU has established programs at Butler Community College and Hutchinson Community College, as well as continuing efforts at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

“This fall, we will see the first enrollments in the business program at BCC,” Williams said. “We’ll have the first real strong beginning process with HCC. We have reviewed our agreements with KCKCC.”

As a part of these programs, it will be easier for students attending these community colleges to continue their educations at ESU.

“With Hutchinson, we’ve developed a dual enrollment program,” Williams said. “When those students transition here, they will have taken what they need to complete the degree in two years.”

A similar program will exist within the Business and Elementary Education Departments at Butler.

“We need to develop these agreements so that’s seamless transition for the student,” Williams said. “If enrollment is going up in the community colleges, it only makes sense that we need to recruit more transfer students.”

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According to a recent sampling done by Associated Insulated Inc., a contracting company based in Manhattan, the walls in Webb Lecture Hall, the adhesive on the tiles in the Webb lobby and the Ballroom bays, the steam lines and ceiling in the lower level have all tested positive for asbestos. Jonathan Elliott/The Bulletin

Asbestos is banned in about 50 countries, but still lingers in some buildings constructed before 1980 in the U.S., including the Memorial Union.

According to a recent sampling done by Associated Insulated Inc., a contracting company based in Manhattan, the walls in Webb Lecture Hall, the adhesive on the tiles in the Webb lobby and the Ballroom bays, the steam lines and ceiling in the lower level have all tested positive for asbestos.

“Most of the asbestos is on the far east side of the building which was built in 1971, and it was applied during construction because in that time frame it was a very popular method for insulating,” said Dave Hendricks, director of the Memorial Union.

Preliminary to the construction for the renovations in the union, the university contracted with Associated Insulated Inc. to get the asbestos abated, a bid which fell in around $380,000. This left $120,000 in the “environmental concerns” portion of the renovation budget to cover any additional fees of new findings once construction is underway.

“We had done a couple of asbestos abating projects in the 1970s additions so we suspected that we had it,” Hendricks said. “We would have been surprised if we wouldn’t have had any. I think we’re going to be more surprised in what we find when we start tearing down walls and ripping out ceilings.”

According to “Ban Asbestos Now,” a campaign advocating awareness about the dangers of asbestos, 2,000 to 3,000 people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Director of Facility Planning Bobbi Pearson said that despite concerns, the university was advised to leave the asbestos undisturbed.

“Industry practices recommend that existing asbestos-containing materials be maintained in their original state,” Pearson said. “When materials are removed for renovation work, a licensed contractor will safely contain areas to protect against health risk then collect and legally dispose of products.”

Hendricks said that because asbestos clean-up is an expensive process and the building has not been under construction, there has not been an opportunity to abate the asbestos before now.

“It’s a very costly method and it is my understanding that as long as it is not being disturbed or you’re not doing construction in those areas, then you don’t have to worry about it,” Hendricks said.

The asbestos evasion will begin March 1 and will extend to Webb Lecture Hall around April 19. Hendricks said the process should not disrupt student travel through the union, instead, rerouting is a product of the construction.

“Your biggest thing is that Webb Lecture Hall and lobby will be offline, not because we’re abating asbestos but because we’re under construction and our path of travel is going to be changed,” Hendricks said.

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Nearly one in five Emporians were without power yesterday around 5:30 p.m. for about 40 minutes. The outage affected 2,461 Westar Energy customers in Lyon County, according to Westar Energy’s website. Westar Energy gave no cause for the outage.

The basketball game at William Lindsey White Auditorium was not affected, but the campus residence halls, the Memorial Union and other buildings on campus and around town lost power, causing some evening meetings and classes to be cancelled.

“Parts of campus have lost power before but I don’t think it’s ever been off this long, at least not in the three years I’ve been here,” said Ed Franks, assistant director for scheduling and operations.

Carol Blade, Towers Complex coordinator, said there are immediate actions taken in the event of a power outage.

“One of the first things we do is make sure that nobody is in the elevators and if there are then we call police and safety and have the people let out,” Blade said. “We have a couple other systems that run off of batteries and so we just make sure those batteries are working and if they don’t then we have another plan to fall back on.”

While there was nobody in the elevator shafts of the residence halls, one student was caught in the dark while showing.

“I was in the shower and then it got really dark and so I grabbed my towel and ran to my room,” said Dakota Hagar, freshman computer science major. “It was actually pretty scary because I didn’t know what was going on, I was confused.”

After the power had been out for about 20 minutes, Franks directed everyone out of the union.

“I instructed the operations manager on duty to try and contact public safety,” Franks said. “That’s who we contact first because they can usually tell us what the problem is, but their lines were busy so we started to go upstairs where we had the least amount of natural light and clear the upstairs and asked anyone who was currently in the building having a meeting to please exit and letting those who were coming in for meetings know that they would not be able to meet until we figured out how long we were going to be without power.”

Meanwhile, students ate dinner in the Lakeview cafeteria.

“We try to keep the cafeteria open so we can feed as many people as possible but once we run out of food, we don’t have the ability to make more food, so we’re going to have to close that as well,” Franks said.

The cafeteria remained open due to the return of power around 6 p.m., but not before everything was removed from the serving tables and marked as spoiled. The cafeteria staff was able to prepare and serve more food once the power returned.

“We’ve had maybe 50 students come in and we’ve had to turn the rest of them away because the temperatures of our food is down,” said Tracy Judson, night shift supervisor for Lakeview cafeteria, around 5:40 p.m. “We can’t serve it, it’s in the danger zone. Pretty much all of it we will have to throw away.”

Katie Galliart, freshman secondary English education major, was in the cafeteria when the power outage occurred.

“I went over to tell the cafeteria lady that there was sugar on the French fries and the lights just went off,” Galliart said. “I kind of looked around to see if there was anybody or whatever it was. I was pretty calm about it.”

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“We are pilgrims in an unholy land.”

The above quote is from one of my favorite movies, “Indiana Jones.” In it, Harrison Ford is referring to his presence in Nazi Germany during WWII. While I’ve never been in a situation that extreme, I think of this quote when I find myself outside of the Midwest region I know so well. I think the quote says something about people’s mentality; we like to think we are the normal ones, and the rest of the world is crazy, or backwards, or weird.

As a kid I was under the belief that people were people, no matter where you went. When I traveled through Europe in high school I learned how wrong I was. People are very different. Looking back, it’s childish to think that everyone is like you simply because that’s all you know. Cultures create personalities, so with different cultures come different types of people.

I remember my first night in Italy when we were eating at a café and I asked the waiter for refill on my soda. He looked at me like I had pasta coming out of my ears. Apparently in some parts of Europe there are no refills – you drink what you get, then you’re done. As a child raised in a soda-decadent culture, that baffled me. That was my first experience in crossing cultures.

It’s important to note when I say people are different, I don’t mean inherently or morally, merely superficially. Just because the waiter didn’t like refills didn’t make him a bad person, or me one for loving refills. I’m simply talking about those tiny differences that are the result of cultural upbringing; the ones we all take for granted as being universally apparent. Just wanted to make that point.

The older I got, the easier it became to see cultural differences. The more I traveled the U.S., and the more stories I heard from friends and family, the more I learned about the differences within regions.

I remember my dad telling me about his first time in Boston. He stood in line for 10 minutes at a coffee shop before realizing he wasn’t moving. People were merely walking right in front of him, slowly pushing their way to the counter to be served. To a Midwesterner like my dad, it seemed chaotic, but he was assured by a Bostonian that there was a method to the madness. Apparently something as simple as waiting in line is up for cultural interpretation. They don’t even call it waiting in line there – it’s waiting on line!

I asked a few of my friends about their experiences since moving from the Midwest to other regions. When they tell people they were from Kansas they got one of two responses; either a “Wizard of Oz” reference, or an apology: “You’re from Kansas? I bet that sucked.”

The third most common response seemed to be, “Where is Kansas?”

My friend Sarah said, “I’ve found that many Seattleites don’t really know where Kansas is. It’s mostly just “over there” somewhere. Also, telling them I had to drive 30 miles to go to a mall or a movie theater is mind boggling.”

Mainly what I’ve heard from my friends is that people outside of the Midwest are much ruder than we are. We have all heard this stereotype before, but I was surprised at how often it popped up in people’s comments.

My friend Larry talked about his first few days in D.C.: “I remember my first time in Georgetown, walking from the metro stop I noticed that even if you said “hello” right to someone’s face, they would completely ignore you. That was a first for me. I counted 30 people on that walk. Not one of them seemed to notice I was there.”

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Over the next six weeks, the Fiscal Affairs committee of Associated Student Government will formulate an allocations bill to be presented at its first meeting in April. The bill will outline allocations of student fee dollars for recognized student organizations for the 2011 fiscal year.

About $135,000 is available for allocations to the 60 RSOs that met the application deadline.

“Every year the amount that all of the organizations ask for greatly exceeds how much we can actually give to them,” said Jonathan Rivers, chair of the Fiscal Affairs committee and junior secondary education in social sciences major.

As part of the process, RSOs must schedule a meeting with the Fiscal Affairs committee where they discuss their goals and needs as a club.

“We’re just looking at what they’re asking for and how they’re going to use it to better the campus,” said Jennifer Cheray, member of the Fiscal Affairs committee and sophomore marketing major.

Group size, goals and previous achievements that are discussed in the meetings are all contributing factors in deciding how funds will be divided, as does the amount that the RSO is asking for.

“Some groups just want publicity money, money for a speaker, or just trip money, and so the committee sits down and goes through and sees where they can make the fewest cuts to get the maximum benefit for the money,” said Whitney McGinnis, ASG graduate assistant.

RSOs that applied for allocations are required to sit in on the ASG meeting in April where the amounts for each club will be discussed and debated. They then must attend workshops held by ASG, the dates of which have not been set.

“After the meeting there’re some workshops in April that are put on about how to spend the money that they are allocated, what kind of forms they have to fill out when they travel, who to get into contact with when they travel and that sort of stuff,” McGinnis said.

While ASG representatives are responsible for contacting their RSOs, the clubs themselves must follow through on the allocation application, the meeting with the fiscal affairs committee, the ASG meeting in April and the workshops in order to receive funding.

“There’s a lot of responsibility on the organization but we feel that if they’re wanting to use this money it’s a good way to make sure that they’re really going to use the money for the best purposes since it is student fee dollars,” McGinnis said.

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SHANE WILSON

Where’s the love for Division II?

It’s pretty easy to find information on virtually every NCAA Division I team in the country. The Entertainment Sports Programming Network (ESPN) has a bevy of information, stats and otherwise, readily available for anybody who wishes to view it. In-depth analysis, previews, reviews and even live coverage are at the fingertips of every sports lover who has a television or the internet.

Why is that sort of information harder to access for Division II?

There’s really only one answer I could think of – money.

Division I schools are typically the more high profile institutions with high enrollment numbers and big time sports programs. These colleges bring in big bucks when it comes to sports revenue – ticket sales are just a portion of the thousands of dollars these schools bring in. With a larger alumni pool, there’s more of an opportunity for donors contributing to a program’s facilities, scholarships, etc.

It’s simple when you first think about it. Larger schools who are members of bigger conferences like the ACC, SEC, Pac 10 or the Big XII bring in the big bucks.

Does that mean these schools hold more entertainment value?

I think not.

The obvious differences in competition aside, Division II sports provide an excellent opportunity for athletes and fans alike to participate in the art of sport. Athletes who did not have the opportunity to participate in the upper echelon of their respective sports have the chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves, albeit on a smaller stage.

Sports enthusiasts who enjoy a more “pure” form of the game can marvel at the sights and sounds of Division II sports. Athletes who engage in this competition are less likely to be centrally motivated by money or fame.

It’s really too bad that ESPN, the self proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports,” doesn’t have a good pulse on Division II. There are rankings and the occasional story or two on the Web site, but it just isn’t good enough.

The argument is similar, in part, to the market debate in professional sports. Take a large market team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who have seen their ups and downs over the past few decades, and compare them to a small market team like the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Eagles play in a larger market than most, allowing them more consistent coverage and exposure. The Chiefs, on the other hand, play in a small market, hampering their ability to consistently bring in big name free agents and gain a steady dose of national exposure.

Philadelphia represents Division I. Big money markets, big money schools – same difference. The small-market Chiefs are similar to Division II. Less exposure and revenue usually equals less highly-touted recruits.

The assumption is a smaller school can’t produce entertaining, highly competitive sporting events.

I’d like to hear someone who has watched an MIAA basketball game say that.

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Ashley Peaches

Dear Ashley

Which birth control pills are the safest and most effective?

Sincerely,

Cautious

Dear Cautious,

According to research done by Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, some oral contraceptives come with more of a risk of blood clots than others.

According to the study, contraceptives with levonorgestrel and a low dose of estrogen have the lowest risk of venous thrombosis or blood clots.

However, experts at WebMD said that the differences in risk are small and the risk of getting blood clots is low to begin with.

The risk of blood clots is associated with higher levels of estrogen in birth control pills.

As far as effectiveness goes, most birth control pills have about the same level of effectiveness which, when taken correctly, can be 91 to 99 percent effectiveness.

But always remember the MOST effective form of birth control is abstinence, so keep it in your pants.

Dear Ashley

Why are you always saying keep it in you pants?

Sincerely,

Confused

Dear Confused,

Well “keep it in your pants” has sort of become my catch phrase and really is the motivation and the reasoning behind this column.

“Keep it in your pants” has its literal meanings (obviously) but mostly it has come to mean that if you are still having questions, don’t do it. And it has become a funny way to help people remember the main message of this column.

Like I’ve said before, I’m not trying to pressure people into doing anything that they don’t want to do, so one of the best pieces of advice I can give someone is keep it in your pants –  literally.

And for those of you wondering, no I’m not a nymphomaniac, or a woman who is obsessed with sex (interestingly enough, the male version of nymphomania is satyriasis). This is now referred to as hypersexuality, which can be applied to both sexes, according to dictionary.com.

I’m just an honest, open and curious person who is comfortable talking about a wide range of sexual issues.

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With National Eating Disorder Awareness Week falling on the week of Feb. 28 -March 6, Emporia State’s counseling department and its students face the complex issue of eating disorders.

“[My friend] was always very conscious of what she was eating, looking like and how people were seeing her,” said Matt Bricker, senior sociology major. “She tried counseling, but that was hit and miss. Recovery was a long process for her, and it took a lot of effort.”

The purpose of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues while reducing the stigma surrounding eating disorders and improving access to treatment, according to the National Eating Disorder Awareness’ official Web site.

“Eating disorders are not talked about very often,” said Anita Bodkin, counselor for Emporia State’s counseling center. “It’s a hard thing to admit to but our campus has students with eating disorders just like any other college campus.”

Bodkin says the consumption, or purging, of food for the body can be an attempt to fulfill some other emotional need that is being unfulfilled.

“Eating disorders are often called a ‘needing disorder,’” said Sally Crawford-Fowler, assistant director of student wellness of the counseling center. “There is a need to feel good, and I think the media and most of society puts a lot of pressure on people to be a certain way to feel good. Eating disorders are much more common amongst people with perfectionist personalities.”

The counseling associated with helping alleviate the effects of eating disorders involves a significant amount of counseling and discussion, Bodkin said.

“We try to help the person figure out that need that is going unfulfilled,” Bodkin said. “Once we’ve identified that need we try and help them meet it in a healthy and productive manner.”

ESU counselors provide services for students with eating disorders, but the center has no formal plans for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. The center’s commitment to providing care for eating disorders all the time instead of one week a year is the reason for the lack of plans, Crawford-Fowler said.

“Most people don’t seek treatment till it interferes with their social lives,” Crawford-Fowler said. “We always have literature and counselors available for anyone who needs it.”

Many students enter college with eating disorders, or other issues, that they did not have the resources to treat before, Bodkin said.

“My friend had an eating disorder in high school,” Bricker said. “She was only able to start recovery in college.”

Peer groups and self-image were the keys to Bricker’s friend’s recovery from the effects of her eating disorder.

“She definitely needed a better support group,” Bricker said. “Some of her friends had similar problems, and it didn’t help her. She seems much happier now, and less concerned with perceptions and much more willing to be herself.”

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The Emporia State women’s basketball team fell short of capturing the #1 seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament as they fell to rival Washburn 63-51

Shooting was a major concern for the Hornets – ESU only shot 28.8 percent from the field.

“We just didn’t hit shots when we needed to,” said senior guard Cassondra Boston. “Obviously we didn’t shoot very well tonight. Usually we do shoot pretty well here. Tonight that wasn’t the case.”

ESU Coach Brandon Schneider concurred.

“We just didn’t make enough baskets and finish enough plays in the first half to take advantage of their foul situation,” Schneider said.

The Ichabods started off hot, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half. The first media timeout of the half stopped the action with the score still the same with 14:38 to play.

Emporia State’s scoring drought was finally ended after the media timeout by a drive to the basket by Boston.

The Hornets closed to within three of Washburn’s lead, 8-11, with just over 11 minutes in the half thanks to a banked jump shot from senior guard Sophia Lenard. After an easy bucket from Washburn’s Dayna Rodriguez, senior guard Jamie Augustyn answered with a three-pointer, bringing the score to 11-13 in favor of the Ichabods.

Following a timeout on the floor, sophomore guard Brittney Miller tied the game at 13 with a layup. The teams were neck and neck at 15-all until a Washburn three-pointer gave the Ichabods a three point lead.

With under two minutes to play in the first half, the Hornets trailed the Ichabods 15-20. Another Washburn three ball gave the Ichabods an eight point advantage over the Hornets with 1:22 remaining in the first half.

The Hornets went into the locker room at the half trailing Washburn 21-25.

Washburn started out the second half much like they did the first with an 8-3 run that set the score at 24-33 in favor of Washburn. The first timeout on the floor of the half paused the action with the Hornets still trailing the Ichabods, 26-35, with 14:24 to play in the contest.

The Hornets, however, would not go away easily, as an offensive surge in the paint led by junior forward Alli Volkens brought ESU within one point of Washburn’s lead, 34-35, before the Ichabods called a timeout with 11:22 left to play.

Schneider called timeout at the 8:19 mark when the Ichabods’ lead stretched to six at 37-43 to regroup the shaky Hornets.

The final timeout on the floor saw ESU trailing Washburn 41-50 with 4:23 left to play in the contest.

Thanks to two quick baskets, the Hornets cut Washburn’s lead to five, 45-50, before WU called timeout with 2:40 left. Following the timeout, the Ichabods went on a 9-0 tear to pull away from the Hornets.

The Hornets eventually fell to Washburn, 51-63.

Volkens said that the team’s focus was probably on games in the future.

“We might have looked ahead a little bit too far,” Volkens said. “Our motto is ‘take it one day at a time’…we didn’t do that.”

Boston led the Hornets in scoring with 13, followed by Lenard with 11 and Volkens with 10 points.

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Senior guard Lamar Wilbern races against a Washburn defender Wednesday night at White Auditorium. Wilbern scored 21 points helping the Hornets beat the Ichabods 71-62.

It was do or die time for the Hornets of Emporia State – thanks to senior guard Lamar Wilbern’s 21 points, the Hornets outlasted the Washburn Ichabods in overtime, 71-62

ESU Coach David Moe was pleased with his team’s performance.

“In the end I thought it was a great win for us,” Moe said.

The Ichabods lit up the scoreboard first with a traditional three point play, which was quickly followed by a three-pointer from senior guard Jeremiah Box. A timeout on the floor stopped the action with the Hornets leading WU 9-5 with 14:55 left to play in the first half.

Washburn battled back to tie the game at 9-all until a fade away jumper from Wilbern separated the teams by two points, 11-9. Another media timeout saw the Hornets trailing the Ichabods 11-13 with 9:38 to play in the half.

With the Hornets trailing WU by five, Wilbern stepped up and hit a big time three-pointer to bring Emporia State within two, 16-18 with just under four minutes to play in the half.

A Washburn timeout stopped the game with 17.2 seconds remaining in the half. The Hornets trailed the Ichabods by four, 21-25, heading into the locker room at halftime.

Box scored first for the Hornets to start the second half on a layup down the middle of the lane.

After a small run by Washburn, Emporia State started hitting shots that cut the lead to one at 28-29 – Washburn Coach Bob Chipman called timeout with 16:12 left to play in the contest.

The Hornets took the lead, 35-34, at the 11:21 mark courtesy of a trey from Wilbern. A media timeout stopped the game with Emporia State trailing WU 35-36 with 9:57 remaining in the contest.

With the game tied at 37-all, senior guard Dustin Andrews took a pivotal charge with just under nine minutes to play, giving the Hornets the opportunity to take possession. Senior guard Tim Niles hit a three-pointer to give the Hornets a three point lead, 40-37, before Moe called a timeout. The final media timeout saw the Hornets with a 46-44 edge over the Ichabods with 3:22 left to play in the second half.

A charging violation against Washburn led to a WU timeout by a frustrated Chipman, with the Hornets leading 48-46 with 1:44 remaining. After the timeout, junior forward Adam Holthaus hit a shot in the paint, which was followed by a Washburn three-pointer, setting the score at 50-49 in favor of ESU with under one minute to play.

With the game tied at 52, Washburn took possession with 15.6 seconds left in the game, which led to a missed shot by forward De’Andre Washington. The missed shot sent the game to overtime with the score tied at 52.

After winning the possession on the jump ball, Wilbern stepped up immediately and hit a three-pointer, giving the Hornets a three point advantage, 55-52. Wilbern followed his trey with two made free throws, padding the Hornets lead to five. Following one made free throw from Washburn,

Wilbern struck yet again, this time on a slashing move to the basket. Moe took a 30 second timeout with 3:03 remaining in the extra period with Hornets leading 61-55.

With under one minute remaining, the Hornets led the Ichabods 65-60. In the end, Emporia State walked away with a decisive victory over the Ichabods, 71-62.

Wilbern made a concerted effort to step up his game for the extra period.

“I just wanted to be aggressive in overtime,” Wilbern said. “It worked out for me.”

For Andrews, the game was a special experience.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Andrews said. “It’s always going to come down to the wire. It was a great game. It was fun to play in. It was just a great thing to be apart of.”

Holthaus scored 15 points for the Hornets, and Niles and junior guard Matt Boswell scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Hornets finish out the regular season on the road against Ft. Hays State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Feb. 28 in Hays.

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